Armed man targets Kroger, Walgreens; employee hit with pepper spray

The Kroger store in the Tates Creek Centre in Lexington. Police said a man robbed the store Wednesday night and used pepper spray on an employee. He also threatened an employee with a rifle after leaving the store. Charles Bertramcbertram@herald-leader.com

The Kroger store in the Tates Creek Centre in Lexington. Police said a man robbed the store Wednesday night and used pepper spray on an employee. He also threatened an employee with a rifle after leaving the store. Charles Bertramcbertram@herald-leader.com

A man robbed a Kroger store in Lexington, used pepper spray on an employee and threatened someone with a rifle Wednesday night, according to police.

The robber pushed a clerk and stole cigarettes about 10 p.m. Wednesday at the Kroger on Tates Creek Road, police said. The man then used pepper spray on an employee and ran to his vehicle, police said. He pulled a rifle from his car and pointed it toward a store employee before leaving, according to police.

About 90 minutes later, the same man, carrying a rifle, walked in and out of Walgreens on Pink Pigeon Parkway, but police were unable to catch him before he drove off, LEX 18 reported.

Police used K-9 units and a helicopter to search Wednesday night and Thursday morning, according to WKYT. People in the area aren’t in any immediate danger, police told WKYT.